MOLLY JOHNSON TO RELEASE BECAUSE OF BILLIE ON SEPTEMBER 09
MOLLY JOHNSON TO RELEASE BECAUSE OF BILLIE ON SEPTEMBER 09
Toronto, ON – 06 August 2014- Renowned Canadian multi-genre chanteuse Molly Johnson will release her sixth studio album, Because Of Billie, September 9 via Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. The record will be available digitally, on CD as well as 2LP gatefold, 180 gram vinyl.
“For years, people have said to me, ‘You are so much like Billie Holliday,’” says Johnson speaking on this ambitious and also deeply personal project. “My response has been ‘No, I am because of Billie.’”
Recorded in Toronto with producers John Bailey and Mike Downes, Johnson wanted to infuse Because Of Billie with her idol’s spirit, preparing the songs emotionally and technically so many could be recorded in one take.
Billie Holiday’s journey inspires Johnson not only as an artist, but as a model citizen. “Billie and her generation were the civil rights movement,” Johnson notes. “Her generation sacrificed for my privilege and I am honour-bound to them. I love history. I love to look back while pushing forward.”
Paying homage to Holiday’s childhood struggles, Johnson will donate a portion of album sales to the Boys and Girls Clubs Of Canada that provide programs to underprivileged youth and families.
Molly Johnson’s voice is a distinctive national treasure. As singer-songwriter, artist, broadcaster, and philanthropist, Johnson’s roots are Canadian while her reach is worldwide. Perhaps most associated with the iconic jazz vocal styling she has honed, Johnson has performed with such diverse artists as Tom Jones, Celine Dion, Anne Murray, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Cochrane, Stéphane Grapelli, Jackie Richardson, Peter Appleyard and many more. Molly Johnson has performed for the legendary Quincy Jones as well as the late Princess of Wales and Nelson Mandela. In 2009, she received the JUNO Award for Best Vocal Jazz Album and the National Jazz Award for Best Female Vocalist. Johnson is a recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal and was honoured in 2008 with the Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of her charitable work and contributions to the arts.
Because Of Billie Tracklisting:
1. Body And Soul
2. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
3. Fine and Mellow
4. Them There Eyes
5. You’ve Changed
6. God Bless The Child
7. How Deep Is The Ocean
8. Strange Fruit
9. Lady Sings The Blues
10. Do Nothin’ Til You Hear From Me
11. You Go To My Head
12. They Can’t Take That Way From Me
14. Now or Never
13. Don’t Explain
MollyJohnson.com
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